The difference between travel writing as fiction is the difference between recording what the eye sees and discovering what the imagination knows. Fiction is pure joy - how sad that I could not reinvent the trip as fiction.

Indian enterprises seemed to work so well they produced disasters; success made them burst at the seams and the disruption of unprecedented orders led to shortages and finally failure.

Airplanes have dulled and desensitized us; we are encumbered, like lovers in a suit of armor.

In Turkey it was always 1952, in Malaysia 1937; Afghanistan was 1910 and Bolivia 1949. It is 20 years ago in the Soviet Union, 10 in Norway, five in France. It is always last year in Australia and next week in Japan.

There's always a way if you're not in a hurry.

I think I understand passion. Love is something else.

Travel is at its most rewarding when it ceases to be about your reaching a destination and becomes indistinguishable from living your life